About Us
Oxfam Shop
Oxfam Shop is a passionate supporter of fair trade and deals on a fair trade basis with 85 fair trade organisations around the world, who support thousands of producers including Indigenous Australians. Through fair trade we are part of a global movement calling for an end to unfair trade practices. Fair trade empowers disadvantaged communities by paying them fair and stable prices for their work, helping them to gain the skills they need to develop their business, and giving them access to world markets.
Oxfam Shop is registered as a Fair Trade Organisation by the World Fair Trade Association (WFTO) and shares its goals:
• Commitment to fair trade
• Transparency in business practices
• Ethical workplaces
• Equal employment opportunities
• Concern for people and the environment
• Education about and advocacy of fair trade.
All our tea, coffee, cocoa, and chocolate carry the Fairtrade logo and we are adding more Fairtrade products all the time. The Fairtrade logo is your guarantee that the product has been produced and traded in accordance with international fair trade standards. Many of our overseas producer partners are registered as Fair Trade Organisations and our Australian suppliers need to assure us that their products meet minimum ethical requirements.
A bit of background
Oxfam Australia began as Community Aid Abroad more than 50 years ago but its present name enables it to share in a profile that is recognised around the world. Oxfam Shop is a wholly owned subsidiary of Oxfam Australia and although we operate in a fiercely competitive retail environment we are a non-profit organisation. Any surplus we make goes towards our further development or the work of Oxfam Australia in alleviating the condition of communities living with poverty and injustice.
The foods and handcrafts found in our shops, on our web site and in our catalogues are sourced from individual workers, craft bodies and fair trade organisations in developing countries. We buy their goods at a fair price and sell them in Australia so that communities may be helped in their struggle for a better life. We help with product development and commercial skills so the workers can become self-reliant in a wider market. We don’t send a design to a supplier and tell them to make it. Instead, we ask what they can do and collaborate with them in developing the product based on market trends, pricing, and the possibility of low-cost technical innovations. We pay as much as 50% of the order value in advance for groups that require capital. Also, we commit ourselves to ongoing relationships rather than just making one-off purchases.
Against exploitation
We strive to ensure that our producers are not exploited and we are sensitive to their cultural, religious and artistic traditions and beliefs.
Aboriginal artists receive royalties for the artwork used in the cards and calendars Oxfam Shop issues each Christmas. We are committed to reconciliation, learning from the past and finding fair ways of coexisting and ensuring the basic rights of indigenous Australians.
We care for the environment by supporting the use of recycled or recyclable materials wherever possible. We try to keep packaging to an effective minimum while bearing in mind the distance our products have to travel and the handling involved.
While we recognise the need in many countries for children to work if the family is to make ends meet, we condemn children working if it is in any way exploitative or detrimental to the child's health and education.
Oxfam Shop is making a difference and so can you by choosing from our exotic and exciting range of homewares and gifts either on-line, by mail order (call 1800 088 455 for a catalogue) or at our growing network of shops.
Contact Us
Our warehouse is located at:
278 Grand Junction Road
Athol Park, South Australia, 5012
Australia
Our Mailing Address is:
Oxfam Australia Trading Pty Ltd,
Reply Paid 86135,
Carlton VIC 3053,
Australia
Telephone, Fax and email
Toll Free 1800 088 455 from within Australia.
Phones are staffed between 9am and 5pm (Eastern Time) weekdays.
Please leave a message if calling outside these hours.
Fax: (03) 9347 1983
Email: mailorder@oxfamshop.org.au
Web Administrator
(for feedback or problems to do with our web site)
Email: mailorder@oxfamshop.org.au
Public Relations
Please contact our Public Relations Co-ordinator
Ph: (08) 8240 7679
Copyright
Use of the material on this site for educational purposes is encouraged. Oxfam Australia gives permission for articles, illustrations and other materials to be reproduced for educational purposes or personal use, provided the information is not changed, and that the source is acknowledged appropriately. Use of material on this website for purposes other than educational or personal use must have prior authorisation by Oxfam Australia Trading: contact mailorder@oxfamshop.org.au